Diaco makes debut at UConn spring game

Chris Elsberry

Published 7:54 pm, Thursday, April 10, 2014

More Information

UConn spring football gameWHEN: Saturday, 3 p.m.WHERE: Rentschler Field, East Hartford2013 RECORD: 3-9 overall, 3-5 American Athletic ConferenceLATEST NEWS: WR Shakim Phillips, OG Gus Cruz, LB Brandon Steg, WR Dhameer Bradley, OL Samuel Murphy, CB David Stephenson, CB Tyree Clark and TE Michael Boland will likely not play due to injury … QB Kivon Taylor was suspended for a second time this week for a violation of team rules and will not be in uniform.COST: Admission and parking are freeSKINNY: This will be the first time new head football coach Bob Diaco is presenting his team to the public, looking to erase the mindset of three straight losing seasons and start a turnaround back to respectability. Since his hiring in December, Diaco has done his best to transform the team into his image, posting positive motivational signs all around the Burton Family Football Complex and the Shenkman Training Center as well as implementing a blood screen program to help strengthen the players through better nutrition and vitamin supplements. ... All three quarterbacks -- Casey Cochran, Chandler Whitmer and Tim Boyle -- who played in 2013, return and all three will see solid playing time, led by Cochran, who will take the initial snaps with the first team. In addition, a strong set of receivers, led by Geremy Davis and Deshon Foxx, will be back as well as both tailbacks, Lyle McCombs and Max DeLorenzo. On defense, five starters return, CB Byron Jones, S Obi Melifonwu, DEs Angelo Pruitt and Julian Campenni and LB Jefferson Ashiru.-- CHRIS ELSBERRY

Page 1 of 1

STORRS -- For the first time, some of the secrets that UConn football coach Bob Diaco has been keeping about his roster over the course of his spring practice schedule will finally be revealed.

For the last five weeks and after 14 practices, Diaco has done his best to maintain his "one voice" policy regarding what's happening with the 2014 Huskies. A total of 10 players -- hand-picked by Diaco to speak -- have been available (four at one practice, six at the other) to the media exactly twice. And in those two times, they've tossed out the company line about how no one is looking back and how everyone is excited about looking forward to what lies ahead.

But now, with the annual Blue-White spring game looming on Saturday (3 p.m.) at Rentschler Field, Husky fans will get their first look at what might be a potential depth chart of players heading into the summer.

Although he said early in the practice schedule that he wasn't focused on depth and/or building depth, that's exactly what Diaco and his staff have been doing. Every drill of every practice has been filmed and every player graded on his work. Those evaluations, Diaco said, "will eventually set some form of depth chart" but that the main objective for the spring was that "this team needs to understand the effort that it needs to play with and the effort that great teams need to play with."

And what are they going to see on Saturday?

"They're going to see four quarters of football," Diaco said earlier this week. "We're going to kick it, we're going to catch it, we're going to throw it, run it, live tackle ¦ move the chains, move the field. Game situations."

Under Paul Pasqualoni's watch, the Blue-White game had little or no game conditions due to injuries and poor weather. But Diaco is planning to have an actual "game" in one form or another.

"Game format is still something that I'm working through and trying to decide," he said. "I have it whittled down to two ¦ we're either going to play an offense versus defense with game, full game, full special teams but with a convoluted point scoring system, which produces production on defense, positive and negative production, which produces additions and subtractions and positive and negative production on offense which produces plusses and minuses. Or, we're going to have a collection of the top evaluated players against the rest."

Obviously, all eyes will be focused on the quarterback battle between Casey Cochran, Chandler Whitmer and Tim Boyle. All three started last season -- Whitmer the first four games, Boyle the next four and Cochran the final four. And while Cochran led the team to three wins (for a 3-9 finish), Diaco has erased the slate on what happened last season and has thrown the competition wide open.

"I'm not that concerned about after the 15 practices to have a clear cut 1 or a clear cut 1-2-3 at that position (QB)," Diaco said. "Right now, they're all getting equal reps. As they come up, they come up. We're not differentiating who's running with the first, second or third groups. They're all getting equal reps.

"They're all doing good. They're doing a better job getting the ball out of their hands, making better decisions. There are still a few decisions each day, where you go, `why?' But they're doing a better job of keeping the plays alive. Having pocket awareness when it's time to get rid of it or get on the move. Their really being coached hard. Their willingness to get on the move and run. You always don't have to get on the move and look for an open receiver, if there's green grass ¦ you've got pads, tuck it and go. We're pleased with the quarterbacks."